Mayo offers 24-hour behavioral health services via telemedicine

Mayo Clinic Health System in New Prague is now offering behavioral health services to patients in its Emergency Department via telemedicine. These services include assessment, treatment and placement for outpatient or inpatient behavioral health needs.

“On any given day, a number of patients come to our local Emergency Department who are medically stable, but who otherwise are in crisis,” says Jason Becker, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at Mayo Clinic Health System in New Prague. “Through the use of technology, we can now connect those patients experiencing a behavioral crisis with the right resources when they’re needed.”

Behavioral health services via telemedicine are being offered at Mayo Clinic Health System in New Prague by Behavioral Healthcare Partners (BHP), a Minnesota-based network for more than 5,000 behavioral health provider sites.

“While this new service certainly benefits our patients in a timely manner, it is only an interim solution to a much bigger situation,” says Dr. Becker. “The increased demand for behavioral health services reflects the general absence of these services statewide. Mayo Clinic is actively working with others on a long-term, multi-faceted response to this complex issue.”